Kraven intercepted Selene as she headed for the main exit, a full squad of Death Dealers at her back. Their boot heels clicked in unison on the stone floor. He stepped directly into her path, his posture rigid and official.
"Selene, the council arrives today. I told you to guard the castle. Where do you think you're going?"
Selene stopped. She looked at Kraven, her eyes cold. Her fingers curled into fists at her sides, the only sign of the anger simmering under her skin. It took every ounce of her self-control not to tear into him right there.
"Victor is awake," she said, her voice flat and cold. "You should be thinking about how to explain yourself to him."
She shoved past Kraven, not bothering to make way, and swept out of the castle. Her Death Dealers and Soren's team followed close behind, parting around Kraven like water around a rock.
Kraven stood frozen in the hallway, the sound of their departing footsteps echoing. Wait. What did she mean by that?
Then it hit him, a jolt of cold, hard realization. Selene had broken the ancient rules. She had awakened Victor a full century early. The next era belonged to Elder Marcus, not Victor.
And she had said he needed to explain himself? She was the one who had violated sacred law. She was the one who should be explaining to the coven.
Outside the castle gates, in the cold night air, Selene glanced at Soren as they got into the lead car. "The tracker working?"
Soren pulled out a tablet. A simple red dot moved steadily across the digital map of the city. "No issues. He's heading toward the location you specified."
Selene nodded, settling into the seat. The engine purred to life. If everything went according to plan, she'd collect the Dragon Ball from Michael tonight and acquire another from the black market buyer arriving tomorrow. Three Dragon Balls total. A solid start.
What she didn't see was the werewolf strike team, hidden in the dark treeline just beyond the castle's perimeter, watching her convoy roll out.
The Doctor studied the departing vehicles through binoculars, the green night-vision tint making the cars look ghostly. "They sent a lot of Death Dealers. I want to know what they're planning."
He lowered the binoculars and pointed at three of his team members. "You three stay here. If more Death Dealers mobilize in force, contact me immediately."
"The rest of you, follow at a distance. Don't let them spot us."
Alexei crouched on the edge of a rooftop near the train station, his scouter glowing faintly in the darkness. His long coat flapped and snapped in the cold, whistling wind. Mr. X stood beside him, perfectly still, the full moon at his back casting him in a stark, unmoving silhouette.
Alexei pressed the button on his scouter. The device hummed, and numbers flickered across the display.
"They really are werewolves," he said, his voice carrying easily over the wind. "Quite a few of them too. Lowest combat power is twelve points. One of them hit sixteen."
He grinned, a flash of white in the dark. "Didn't expect London to have so many wolf pups running around. What are they gathering for?"
Mr. X's voice was flat, cold. "Intelligence suggests an important arrival soon. Likely vampire-related."
Alexei snorted. "Some cliché werewolves versus vampires story? How original."
Back in the castle, Kraven descended into the crypts where the elders slept. The air was cold, still, and smelled of dust and ancient stone. He looked around carefully. Everything appeared normal. No signs of disturbance.
Erika appeared at the entrance, a shadow in the darkness. "Selene left the castle with her Death Dealers. Soren's team went with her."
"I already know." Kraven didn't turn around. "Do you know what they're doing?"
Erika hesitated, her voice nervous. "Something about Dragon Balls. Or that human from earlier. I'm not entirely sure. They don't share details with me."
Kraven's jaw tightened. That damn human again. Another mess caused by the werewolves.
"What are Dragon Balls?"
"I don't know. I only know they've been investigating them."
A voice cut through the chamber, dry as parchment but strong. "Why is it so loud?"
Kraven's blood went cold. He froze. Elder Victor was awake.
He turned slowly toward the sound.
Victor emerged from the shadows, countless thin blood transfusion tubes trailing behind him like a web of crimson veins. Thick, dark blood flowed through the tubes, restoring his strength with every passing second. He moved with a deliberate, slow grace, crossing to his stone throne.
His eyes, ancient and sharp, locked onto Kraven and Erika.
"Out," he said to Erika, waving a hand dismissively.
Erika fled, her footsteps echoing as she ran up the stairs.
Victor settled into his chair, the stone groaning under his weight. He studied Kraven with calculating eyes.
"Do you know why I was awakened, servant?"
Kraven dropped to one knee, his head bowed. "I don't know, Master. But I'll find out immediately."
"You mean you'll find Selene?"
Victor's tone made it clear this wasn't a question.
"Bring her to me. We have much to discuss, Selene and I. She transmitted many... disturbing things into my mind. Things that require immediate attention."
His voice hardened, gaining strength. "Our organization has grown weak. Decadent. Perhaps I should consider other candidates to manage my affairs."
Victor's breath suddenly caught. He let out a sharp gasp, pressing a hand to his temple. When he spoke again, his voice was weaker, strained.
"Though many of the memories she passed to me are jumbled. There's no sense of chronology. Did I just hear you mention... Dragon Balls?"
The flood of disorganized, foreign memories clearly pained him.
Kraven saw his opening. "Please, Master," he said, his voice full of feigned concern. "Let me summon assistance. You need rest."
"I've had enough rest," Victor snapped, his strength returning in a wave. "What you should do is called Marcus. And tell me about these Dragon Balls."
Though the memories were chaotic, Victor had caught fragments. Treasures that granted wishes. Selene searching for them. Not yet collected.
Kraven glanced at the heavy, sealed mechanism that would awaken Marcus. "He still sleeps, Master. Amelia and the council arrive tomorrow night to wake him, not you. You were awakened a full century ahead of schedule."
He chose his next words carefully. "As for the Dragon Balls, I only just learned of them myself. Selene is collecting them, but I don't yet know their purpose."
Victor's eyes narrowed, studying Kraven's bowed head. Was he truly ignorant? Or was he lying?
"Leave me. I need to sort through the information Selene transmitted. Once you contact her, tell her to return immediately."
He paused, his voice absolute. "If she's occupied with Dragon Ball business, she may finish that first. But she comes to me the moment it's done."
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